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Monday, April 16, 2012

A-Day 2012: Young talent steals the show

Just like everyone predicted (sarcasm alert), a young man who should be at his high school prom, stole the show Saturday afternoon.

The “highlight reel” from the annual spring game didn’t come from a player with college "game experience" and a national championship ring; it came from a player not old enough to shave.

What a horrible problem to have, right? Life is rough when a freshman early enrollee wins MVP honors at the annual spring game.

Well, so is the “life” for Nick Saban and early enrollee, and MVP winner, T.J. Yeldon.

Yeldon, who is expected to compete for ample time at the running back position in 2012, garnered 179 yards (88 rushing, 91 receiving) as he led the White squad to a 24-15 victory over the Crimson team in the annual
A-Day scrimmage.

In front of 78,526 Tide fans, the “future” of Alabama football was on display…

A-Day Notes/Highlights

-Freshman WR (yet another early enrollee) Chris Black caught a 44-yard TD pass from backup QB Phillip Sims. Black finished the day with three receptions for 61 yards and the aforementioned touchdown.

-QB AJ McCarron finished the afternoon 29-42 for 304 yards, including three interceptions and two touchdowns.

-WR Kenny Bell caught five passes for 86 yards and one touchdown.

-RB Dee Hart had five carries for 44 yards.

-Cody Mandell punted eight times for the Crimson squad and eight times for the White squad. In total, Mandell averaged 44 yards per punt, including two punts of 60+ yards.

Quotable

“One thing that never happens in college football is no one ever has a bad spring and no one ever has a bad spring game. We didn't have one either," UA head coach Nick Saban said. "We had a lot of guys who made a lot of improvement this spring. We are still focusing on more and more guys knowing what it takes to win and the preparations, ability to adjust, play with poise, execute and do their job.”